This isn’t the first time Greg Peterson has been recognized by the Calgary Booster Club.
It’s the third, actually. He won the Harry Hood Award as Calgary’s top high school football player back in 1978 and was then honoured by the organization again in 1990 after he’d been selected as a CFL All-Star as a member of the Stampeders.
But being named the Booster Club’s Sportsperson of the Year on Thursday at McMahon Stadium is on a whole other level for Peterson.
“This is a big thing, to be the sportsperson of the year is really quite the honour,” Peterson said. “You don’t do it for these reasons but it is really nice to be recognized. I have a lot of people to thank, there’s a lot of people who influenced me and it is a great honour to be the recipient of this award, a lot of people came along on the sports journey with me and I have to thank them for that.”A lifelong Calgarian, Peterson has always been a fixture on the city’s sports scene, particularly football.
He was a star at Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School and then went on to college football at Brigham Young University.
After graduating, he would go on to play in the defensive backfield for the Stampeders from 1983 to 1992, winning the Grey Cup in his final game.
After retirement, he pursued a legal career and he is still a corporate finance lawyer at Gowling WLG. But he was never far from the football field.
He’s been a colour analyst for the Stampeders’ radio broadcasts since 1994 and is the president of the Greater Calgary Amateur Football association.
“Football’s been my life,” Peterson said. “When I go around in my law practice, I’m kind of recognized as the football player. When I’m in my church, I’m the lawyer-football player. The biggest thing is the life skills you learn in the game of football are huge. I love the game.
“It’s got strategy, it’s got a position for the big guys, for the medium-sized guys, for the little guys like me who were running fast or whatever. It teaches you life skills and determination and self-discipline. All sports do, but I really love football for that reason.”
While Peterson’s contributions to the Calgary sports community go back decades, his efforts to get a domed field built at Shouldice Athletic Park are as much a part of his legacy as anything else.
The year-round field, which opened last fall, was a piece of sporting infrastructure that Calgary was desperately missing and Peterson was one of the driving forces who got over the hurdles that were required to get the field built.
“You know what, I played pro football, I won the Harry Hood, I won many awards, was CFL all-star, but I think the most gratification and satisfaction I’ve gotten on my sports journey is building Shouldice Field and building the Dome,” Peterson said. “It’s something that was needed in the city and it’s something that the minor football players and other sports are all benefiting from now, and I really get a lot of joy and satisfaction just thinking about the fact that every time I go down there and you say the field full, it’s something that we needed.”
Peterson wasn’t the only person honoured by the Booster Club on Thursday.
Isabelle Weidemann was named the top female athlete of the year after winning a gold, silver and bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar was named as the top male athlete after winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche and emerging as arguably the best defenceman in the world. Andreas Walther was named the winner of the Jack Gregory Award for being the city’s top Special Olympics athlete.
The winners will be honoured officially on April 23 at the Calgary Booster Club’s 69th annual gala at the Glenmore Inn and Convention Centre. Tickets are available on the Booster Club’s website.
daustin@postmedia.com
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